The FID Group

We aim to alleviate the effects of poverty with compassion, connection and dignity by providing food, shelter, rental assistance and permanent housing for those experiencing homelessness. Each of these key programs includes case management which provides, and/or connects, individuals with the resources necessary to support them into becoming a self-sustaining, contributing part of the community.

We aim to alleviate the effects of poverty with compassion, connection and dignity by providing...

Food:
The Food Pantry serves 350+ households per week. Set up just like a neighborhood grocery store, shoppers choose designated amounts (based on household size) of fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meats, breads, fresh baked goods and a large variety of non-perishable items. In addition, throughout the year The Food Pantry recognizes school aged children in our community with backpacks and school supplies, and winter holiday gifts.

Overnight Shelter:
Bad Weather Shelter provides a hot meal and a cozy cot on cold and/or rainy winter nights for up to 140 people. Guests receive a blanket on their first visit and that blanket will be waiting for them each night they return to The Bad Weather Shelter. Case managers are on site to enter folks into the Coordinated Entry System in an effort to assist them with acquiring permanent housing and other available resources. Until housing can be found, new socks, shoes, umbrellas and toiletry items are handed out regularly as a way to help folks survive on the streets.

Rental Assistance:
Eviction Prevention provides short-term and medium-term rental support, as well as move-in assistance to individuals and families on the brink of becoming homeless. Nearly 70 individuals and families benefited from the Friends In Deed Homeless Prevention Program 2020. We expect the number of clients accessing this program will grow dramatically with the end of the Covid related eviction moratorium.

Outreach to those experiencing Chronic Homelessness:
The Street Team spends each weekday on the streets connecting with and building trust with the hardest to reach chronically homeless people with the hope that they will eventually consent to work with a housing navigator to find permanent supportive housing. Upon consent, a chronically homeless individual is placed in a motel room while documents are gathered, and the appropriate housing option is identified. The Program also includes a Housing Locator who works with local landlords and property managers to answer their questions and support them to open rental units for formerly homeless individuals.

Daytime Shelter for Vulnerable Women:
The Women’s Room is a day shelter for 25-35 homeless or at-risk women who come to be reminded that they are not their experience, that they are unique and wonderful and that we support their efforts to normalize their lives. We invite them to grab a shower, get their laundry done, have a meal and a conversation with other guests, volunteers and staff, participate in special programs and receive case management for their unique needs.

Friends In Deed has been serving Pasadena's most vulnerable for over 100 years. We have a small but dedicated staff and we leverage the commitment of hundreds of volunteers who work alongside us to meet our goals. We work alongside other community agencies to be sure that we are doing all we can to meet a person's needs. We have a strong board of directors and a respect in our community that garners us a lot of financial support from individuals, churches, community organizations and government agencies.

The Food Pantry, open Tuesday-Thursday served an average of 395 households per week in 2021, an increase of 13% over pre-Covid numbers. Set up like a neighborhood grocery store, shoppers choose designated amounts (based on household size) of fresh produce and bakery items, frozen meats, and a large variety of non-perishables.  With the start of the pandemic, protocols changed dramatically to keep staff, volunteers and clients safe. We set up outside to allow for social distancing and offered pre-packaged grocery boxes with customized meat additions. 2300 unique households were served with 524,170 meals last year. In addition to supplemental groceries, in 2021 we provided 338 children with school supply filled backpacks and 215 children with holiday gifts their parents requested help with.

The number of Women's Room participants decreased dramatically in 2021, partly due to fearfulness on the part of the guests, and in order to maintain social distancing within the building. Takeaway lunches and hygiene kits were provided for those who were unwilling/unable to come inside. Numbers are building again and special programming including health and beauty and visual arts are slowly returning

Eviction Prevention/Rental Assistance provided short and medium-term rental support and move-in assistance to households on the brink of homelessness.  In 2021, we spent 100% more than in all of 2019 (2020 was down 23% due to the comprehensive eviction moratorium). 107 individuals (including 33 children) received support to remain or become housed, while an additional 222 households received case management that might include something as simple as a referral to another rental aid resource or more extensive help applying for government assistance. As the eviction moratorium is modified, providing some but not complete housing security, the number of clients accessing this program continues to grow dramatically.

Bad Weather Shelter. This is, as in 2021, Covid has made it unsafe for us to open our regular shelter, so in addition to putting vulnerable folks into motels during inclement weather, we are hosting a cold weather distribution program," providing sleeping bags, coats, warm socks, umbrellas, etc. 245 unique individuals participated in this in 2021 and 96 individuals were sheltered in motels for a total of 1981 nights.

Street Outreach Program puts outreach workers on the streets to connect with and build trust with the hardest to reach chronically homeless people, in order to connect them to critical homelessness services and potentially long-term housing.    Our team engaged with 290 individuals in 2021, informing them of and assisting them to access available homelessness services within FID and around the area. 26 individuals were placed into housing.